NEW YORK _ Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said that every collapse has had its own personality.
The one against the Jazz, they weren't getting the shots they needed. Against the 76ers, it was the defense. And on Friday against the Grizzlies? It was every type of thing _ costly mistakes, multiple mini collapses, and eventually, Mike Conley, scoring at will in the second overtime, and D'Angelo Russell's pull-up jumper, going in and out and taking his team's hopes with it.
The Nets squandered a seven-point lead with 50 seconds left in regulation and a four-point lead in the first overtime in the 131-125 loss to the Grizzlies at Barclays Center. It was the third time in a row they lost a 10-point fourth quarter lead, though this one smarted even more _ since the Nets had to come back from seven points down early in the fourth to even get there.
If this loss had a personality, it would be mean, it would be cruel, and it would particularly demoralizing. The Nets took a 121-120 lead with 3:48 left in the second overtime before Spencer Dinwiddie fouled Conley outside the 3-point line with two seconds left on the shot clock; Conley made all three.
"Your confidence takes a hit, whether it's making shots or getting stops or taking care of the ball," Atkinson said before the game. "We have to be resilient enough to fight through it."
After nearly three quarters of tug-of-war, the Grizzlies managed to get ahead by five at the end of the period and up 87-80 in the opening minutes of the fourth, before a furious Nets comeback, courtesy of Ed Davis.
DeMarre Carroll hit a step-back 3 to kick off a 14-0 run and Davis scored the next six points _ on two put-backs and a layup _ to put the Nets up 89-87 with 9:18 left. D'Angelo Russell's 3-pointer a little less than a minute later put the Nets up by five. Carroll's basket with 8:00 completed the spurt and put the Nets up 94-87. Conley's 3, which got the Grizzlies to within 94-40 with 7:10 to go.
The Nets led as many as 10 with 3:52 left, but it wasn't enough to thwart the Grizzlies. Conley hit a jumper from right inside the line to bring the Grizzlies to within 105-100 with two minutes left. Down three with 23 second left, the Grizzlies got the ball back on Russell's turnover, and Jaren Jackson Jr. (36 points) hit a 3 with 16 seconds to go to tie it at 111 and send the game to overtime.
Shabazz Napier scored 18, a game after scoring 10, making it the first time this season he's had back-to-back games with scoring in the double digits. Carroll went 4-for-6 from downtown, and scored 21. Russell chipped in a team-high 26 points.
The Nets trailed by seven with a little more than two minutes left in the first quarter when Napier captained the first of many small comebacks. Carroll and Napier hit back-to-back 3s to get the Nets to within one, and, after the Grizzlies got their lead to 26-23, Napier was fouled going up for a game-tying shot, and hit all three free throws to tie the game at 26 to end the quarter.
The two traded blows for the majority of the second quarter. Before Carroll's left-wing 3 gave the Nets a short-lived 51-50 lead, their first of the game. The Nets went into the break tied at 58, behind Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who scored eight points in the quarter, and Carroll, whose three first-half 3s was already a season high.
